Thieves use stolen tow truck to plow through gate

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – A west side business owner is asking every driver to be on the lookout for a stolen, one-of-a-kind tow truck.

Monday morning, when Ted Green showed up to work he noticed that the fence in front of his car shop was destroyed; pieces were even thrown into 16th Street.

“This section here is bent, which actually has to go back to the third pole. This one has to go all the way back to the 5th pole. I mean it just destroyed my whole front row here,” said Ted Green, town truck owner.

Green quickly noticed how the gate was damaged. Thieves used his tow truck to plow through and take off.

“For someone to just come and take that from us, that’s just a punch in the face,” said Green.

The tow truck is black with neon green lettering that says "Ted’s Auto Care" on each side. Green says this tow truck is the only one that looks like this.

“Even if you’re standing a mile away and seen it coming. You’re going to look, I mean it’s a big truck and it’s noticeable,” said Green.

Within a matter of minutes this car shop is out more than $20,000. The stolen tow truck cuts their fleet in half.

“We’re losing anywhere from $300-$600 a day from the tow truck,” said Green.

Green told us he has security cameras, but the thieves actually turned the one that would’ve captured the crime.

“I don’t know what they took the truck for. I don’t know if they took it for parts. I don’t know if they’re out trying to steal each other’s vehicles. It could be anything,” said Green.

Green does know all it takes is for the thieves to make one wrong turn and for someone to see it and to turn them in.

“It’s just an honest thing to do for somebody to call and report that,” said Green.